Share this video

Watch Next

As the world gasped at the news Donald Trump had been elected the 45th president of the United States so too did the North East.

From the region’s politicians and celebrities to the man in the street - they all had an opinion on the multi-billion pound businessman taking control of the most powerful office on the planet.

On a medium all too familiar to Mr Trump, Twitter, many shared their despair and postulated on what it meant for global politics.

Away from the North East, politicians from across the country were also quick to react.

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who last year stripped Mr Trump of his role as a business ambassador for Scotland, congratulated him on his victory, but said the result was “not the outcome I hoped for” and would cause “a real sense of anxiety” among many people around the world.

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson - who once quipped that the only reason he would not visit parts of New York was the risk of bumping into Mr Trump - released a statement to say: “Congratulations to Donald Trump and much looking forward to working with his administration on global stability and prosperity. I believe passionately in the importance of the UK-US relationship and am confident we can take it forward together.”

In her response, released by Downing Street about 90 minutes after Mr Trump was declared winner, Mrs May said she was looking forward to working with the new president, adding: “Britain and the United States have an enduring and special relationship based on the values of freedom, democracy and enterprise.

“We are, and will remain, strong and close partners on trade, security and defence.”

Read More

Mr Corbyn said many people would be “understandably shocked” by the result.

“This is a rejection of a failed economic consensus and a governing elite that has been seen not to have listened,” said the Labour leader. “And the public anger that has propelled Donald Trump to office has been reflected in political upheavals across the world.

“But some of Trump’s answers to the big questions facing America, and the divisive rhetoric around them, are clearly wrong. I have no doubt, however, that the decency and common sense of the American people will prevail, and we send our solidarity to a nation of migrants, innovators and democrats.”

There was a horrified response from many on the Labour backbenches. Mr Corbyn’s former challenger for the party leadership, Owen Smith, described the result as a “disaster”, saying: “I just think racists, chauvinists, sexists and conmen are wrong. And Trump is all those things.”

Chuka Umunna described Mr Trump’s victory as “terrible news”, while former foreign affairs spokeswoman Diana Johnson said it was “an American tragedy”.

One-time leadership challenger Angela Eagle said it was time to “fight back” against the “politics of grievance”.

Former shadow business minister Kevin Brennan branded Mr Trump a “pig’s bladder on a stick” and added: “The late New York governor Mario Cuomo said, ‘We campaign in poetry, we govern in prose’. Trump campaigned in bigotry - how will he govern?”

Shadow justice secretary Richard Burgon said it was “deeply worrying that Trump - given what he has said, given what he has done and given what he believes - has been elected leader of the most powerful country on Earth”.

Donald Trump as he makes his acceptance speech in New York (Photo: Paco Anselmi/PA Wire)

Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale said she was “heartbroken” by the result, adding: “The most-qualified female presidential candidate ever has been defeated by the least-qualified male presidential candidate ever.”

Conservative MP George Freeman, who chairs Downing Street’s Policy Unit, said: “It’s clear we’re living through a genuine crisis of legitimacy sweeping Western political economy. To regain the respect and legitimacy for mainstream national political leadership we need to be bold in tackling the root causes of despair.”